Nadal glad to return to Paris for Masters

PARIS (AP)—Back in Paris for the first time since his fourth round exit at the French Open, Rafael Nadal doesn’t hold a grudge toward the French crowd.

The four-time Roland Garros champion lost to Robin Soderling last May in the French capital, ending his record 31-match winning streak with a large portion of the crowd supporting his opponent.

Nadal was hampered by tendinitis in both knees at the time but didn’t mention them.

The second-seeded Nadal, who will enter the Paris Masters on Wednesday against Nicolas Almagro, said he was happy to return in a city where “I have special feelings.”

“For sure I always had good fans here,” Nadal said Tuesday at a news conference. “I had some troubles last year when I went out of the court with my injury here. It was a bit disappointing and believe me, it was more difficult for me than for the crowd.”

Nadal had dominated the French Open since his first match on the red clay at Roland Garros before losing to Soderling. In his 31 previous matches, he had lost only seven sets—the last one coming against Roger Federer in the 2007 final.

“It’s one of the most important cities in my career, if not the most,” Nadal said. “I won Roland Garros four times here and every time I come here I have special feelings, especially in Roland Garros.”

The six-time Grand Slam winner slipped from No. 1 to No. 2 in the rankings after being forced to relinquish his Wimbledon crown without playing because of injuries. Nadal pointed out that he is always warmly welcomed by fans in the Parisian streets.

“Sure, the crowd can have its own opinion,” Nadal said. “But when I am in the streets walking around, the people always are really nice with me.”

Nadal returned to competition in October following a month off because of a pulled stomach muscle sustained at the U.S. Open. He reached the semifinals at Beijing before losing to Nikolay Davydenko in the final at Shanghai. His last victory on the tour dates back to April at the Rome Masters.

“I played only two tournaments in normal conditions during that six month spell,” Nadal said. “I played one semifinal and one final in normal conditions. And with not very good conditions, I played the quarterfinals in Montreal, the semifinals in Cincinnati and the semifinals at the US Open. So the results are doing well.”

Nadal, who never won the Paris Masters, has few illusion he will be able to win the title this year among a strong field of opponents including top-ranked Roger Federer. He said he’ll be focusing his energies toward the Davis Cup final.

Defending champion Spain will host the Czech Republic on clay in Barcelona from Dec. 4-6.

“I know for this year it’s going to be difficult to win another title,” Nadal said. “But I have a chance in the Davis Cup final, and I’m gonna try to help my team to win it.”

Nadal also reiterated that the World Anti-Doping Agency’s out-of-competition drug-testing rules, which stipulate that athletes must say where they will be for one hour each day, were to strong.

Earlier this month, the International Tennis Federation confirmed a one-year suspension for Belgian tennis players Yanina Wickmayer and Xavier Malisse for failing to report their whereabouts to anti-doping officials three times this year.

“I am the first one who wants a very clean sport, more than anybody else,” Nadal said. “But sure I would love to see a few changes. I think that’s too much to have to say every day of your life where you are.”